Improved rolling or polishing machine



UNITED STATES PATENT v OFFICE. l

BENJAMIN Q. BUDDINTG, OF MILFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO BEN- JAMIND. GODFREY, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVED ROLLING OR POLISHING MACHINE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,257, dated April 2l,1863.

To all whom it may concerm- Be it known that I, BENJ. Q. BUDDING, ofMilford, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new. and useful Machine for Rolling or Polishing; and I dohereby delare that the following, taken in connection with the drawingwhich accompanies and forms part of this specification, is a descriptionof my invention sufficient to enable those skilled in the art topractice it.

My invention consists ina machine for solidifying the soles of boots andshoes when in process of construction, and while upon their lasts]7which solidifyin g operation, intelligently directed, produces thedesired form of surface, and also leaves the surface and edges of thesoles in a condition to be easily and highly nished. This operation issometimes technically termed leveling, and is performed by my inventionby the movement of a roller, or of a rubber actuated by the combinedimpulse of power andof the operator, the application of the roller orrubber being controlled and directed by the operator. The operation isthat heretofore produced by manipulations with ahammer andrubbing-stick, though these did not produce the desired result nearly aswell or as rapidly as does my machine.

The drawing represents my machine in plan and in elevation, sectionsbeing made through same parts shown in elevation to illustrateV betterthe detail of construction.

The mechanism consists of two distinct parts, each of which has its ownfunction, and which are separately operated and may be separately.considered. One part is the holder or jack for holding or jacking theboot or shoe, so as to present it firmly to the action of the other.part of the mechanism, which consists of a roll or rubber, and themachinery per end, so that the piece g, which carries b, can yextendinto it, and so that the shoulder upon which the last 7L rests can beraised or v lowered, and lixed by a set-screw according as the lasts arehigh or low. o may be made of considerable length, so that the long legsof boots can be placed over it Without coinpressing, folding, or turningthem. b is pivoted to g, so that it may assume any desired angle withthe axial line of c and g, which angle is regulated by the set-screw t'.

It will be seen that movement of o toward a will clamp or cramp7 thelast and shoe firmly in position, with the toe resting on a. To` effectthis forward movement of o there is provided a treadlelever, j, pivotedon 7c, which bears, pivoted upon an arm, l,y affixed thereto, a longpawl, m, which engages with the teeth of f, being held up in position,soto do by the spring n, iiXed in the frame. j is also provided with aspring, o, iiXed in the frame, of j sufficient elasticity to keep jelevated to its highest position when left free to move.

It will now be seen that the shoe is clamped upon the toe-piece a, bydepression by the operator of j, thus moving the pawl m forward, andinclining o toward a. The lever j is held in that position, which clampsthe shoe by means of a catch or tooth which engages with the notched barp.

When it is desired to release the boot or shoe from the jack, theopera-tor gives a sidewise movement to j, which unlocks it from p, andthe spring o carries j to its highest position, which causes m toimpinge against stop q, thereby bending n and releasing m from f,leaving o free to be inclined backward by the operator, thus unclampingthe boot or shoe, which is then removed.

VTo actuate the roller r or rubber, power is applied to shaft s, which,by means rof the bevel-gears shown, rotates a vertical :shaft in thesupport t, on which shaft is xed a disk provided with a slot by whichthe throw of the crank u can be varied. This crank carries aconnecting-rod, w, which has at o provision for vertical vibration of w,and at x provision for torsion of w. The other end of the connecting-rodis pivoted to a yoke, y, which can turn on the shaft on which the roll trevolves, and which connects the two parts of the crosshead z, whichthrough the means-described is reciprocated back and forth on theslidcsa.

The slides a' and pieces b form a frame, which is pivoted to andsupported in a box, c', which box is pivoted at d to the supportf. Itwill be apparent that the slides can be inclined in any direction from ahorizontal plane, and that when horizontal orso 'inclined the rotationof crank a will reciprocate the roll or rubber back and fort-h on theslides.

The position of the frame a a b bI is controlled by the operator throughthe medium ot' the handles d', and the connection e with the lever f',which is pivoted at 7c, and whichy the counterbalance-weight g tends tokeep elevated. llhe connection of e with f is made by means of a longleaf-spring, h, which is secured to f near 7c.

Suppose a boot or shoe to be jacked in position, and the crank a to berotating, it will be evident that the roll r will be reciprocated overthe Surface of the sole, and that by treading onf the roll can be madeto bear on the sole with more or less force up to the limit of thebending of the spring IL', the stiffness of which can be increased bysliding the strap i toward the operator. The roll can be made to operateon every part of the surface of the sole by means of the handles d.

The roll is shown as concave, and long enough to be put in contact withan y part of the widest sole. The roll, however, might be of any otherform desiredconvex, cylindrical, or conical. For some purposes the rollmight be narrow, orornamental figuring might be engraved thereupon. Theframe a' a b b might be arranged so as to be capable of having amovement from right to left, and vice versa, which would be accomplishedby mounting` the horizontal pivots d of the box c on a vertical pivot.While the roll serves best to solidify the sole and bring it into shape,a rubber will probably produce the best polish. A fixed rubber of anysuitablematerial may be made to take the place of the roll, or the rollm-iy be locked and prevented from rotating, thus forming a rubber. Thespring h allows the roll or rubber to yield so as to pass, withoutparticular attention on the part of the operator, over irregularities ofsurface-such, for instance, as where a tapsole terminates near theshank.

While I have described my machine as adapted to operate upon boot andshoe soles, it is evident that it may be employed as well to advantagein otherbranches of the mechanic arts to shape, condense, and polishother materials than leather, and also that the devices for impartingmotion to the roll orrubber, and for controlling` its position andpressure, may be modified from those shown and described herein withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

I am well aware that it is not new to polish leather or other substancesby rollers or polishing-iools hung on vertical levers, and worked byhand over the surfaces to be polished, nor to apply springs inconnection therewith to produce pressure, or to release the articlebeing polished from pressure, nor is it new to give a polishing tool byhand or by mechanism a reciprocating movement overV the surface beingpolished, nor is it. new to produce great pressure on such surface bymeans of clamps operated by hand-levers or treadles. Devices forattaining these results are common, and may be found in many machineswhere friction ot' rolls or other tools is used. (See, for instance,machines patented in the United States by W. Gobwin in 1839; by JohnGardner in 1843; by J. H., J. M., and H. tg. Thompson in 1855, and by G.W. Pruyne in 1&56.) vBut I believe it is novel to combine witha'mechanism for rigidly holding in position a boot-sole or other articlebeing polished, with a mechanism for giving a reciprocating longitudinalmovement to the polishing-tool over such surface, such mechanism beingat the same time combined with other devices which allow at the sametime angular, vertical, and transverse movements to be given to thepolishingtool, as described.

l. Combining, with a holding mechanism a mechanism which, while carryinga roll or rubber back and forth, at the same time permits vertical andangular movements to the roll or rubber, for the purpose of adaptationto curved or irregular surfaces or outlines.

2. Controlling the clamping or holding of the matter to be operated onthrough the medium. ot' the treadle j and its spring o, the ratchetf",pawl m and its spring n, and stop q, or their equivalents.

v Combining with the waysa (if, over which the rubber or roll isreciprocated, the transverse or rocking levers b', rod e', and lever j",operating together, for the purpose asabove Y set forth.

BENJN. Q. BUDDING. Witnesses J. M. MAsoN, J ULrUs A. GEORGE.

